The Counter

The Counter is a customer build burger chain. There are 24 locations and many more scheduled to open, including one in Times Square, NYC. We visited the new location in Corte Madera.

According to the website the customer can create up to 312,000 burger combinations. When you arrive the server explains you have two choices, you can build your own burger with a special menu checklist, or order a house specialty burger from the regular menu. I went with a basic bacon cheese burger.

To start I chose the 1/3 pound Angus beef burger. Other selections are chicken, turkey, veggie and special of the day. The burgers also come in 2/3 pound and 1 pound sizes. Another option is getting your burger served in a bowl instead of on a bun.

Step #2 I ordered American cheese, from the ten cheeses on the menu. Some of the other cheeses to choose from included Tillamook cheddar, horseradish cheddar, imported Swiss and sharp provolone. At Step # 3 you can choose up to 4 toppings from a list of twenty items. Plus they offered nine premium toppings, which cost $1.00 more. I chose the Applewood Smoked Bacon.

Step #4 choose from the variety of 20 different sauces on the menu (I went with ketchup on the table. And finally Step #5 choose your bread. Hamburger, Multigrain or Onion Bun. English muffin or special of the day. A traditionalist I went with the hamburger bun.

Along with the burger we started with some fried onion strings and we shared an order of fries.

The food came fast. The onion strings were hot, crisp and zesty. The coating had a nice flavor with a hint of heat. The appetizer was quickly followed by the burgers. My burger was cooked exactly the way I asked with a nice char-broiled exterior and plenty of beefy flavor. My bacon cheeseburger came with what appeared to be one strip of bacon folded in 1/2, and one portion was over cooked to the point of being crunchy. The cheese had reached that perfect melting point where it was warm but not gooey. Topped with some ketchup and few onion strings my burger was really delicious and satisfying (except the crunchy bacon).

My friends agreed their burgers were just as good, except one of them had selected steak sauce for their burger and the kitchen left it off.

The french fries are the size of matchsticks, about 1/8 of an inch thick. They had a nice crispness to them, but if you only ate one, it tasted more of oil than potato. They were nice, but I like a more robust french fry with a crisp exterior and fluffy, potato interior. These were too delicate. One serving of fries was plenty to feed three people. 

The menu also features a selection of sandwiches, kids options and three other types of fries, including sweet potato fries. There offered desert and milk shake too. The restaurant has a full bar, and beer and wine list.

The meal came to $18 bucks each (including tax and tip) for three custom built burgers, three soft drinks, an appetizer and an order of fries. A little pricey, but the quality was there so I will be going back.

To learn more about The Counter go to  www.thecounterburger.com

Mr. Joe's Kitchen rating *** aprons